NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index®(LEI) for Japan increased 0.1 percent in December to 91.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent decline in November, and a 0.5 percent decline in October.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index®(CEI) for Japan, a measure of current economic activity, decreased 0.2 percent in December to 95.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent decline in November, and a 0.4 percent increase in October.

The Conference Board LEI for Japan has been declining since early 2012, and as a result its six-month growth rate has remained in negative territory. At the same time, The Conference Board CEI for Japan also declined — and has been on a downward trend since February 2012. Taken together, the composite indexes and their components suggest that the current economic downturn is likely to continue in the near term.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for JapanThe composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The leading and coincident economic indexes are essentially composite averages of several individual leading or coincident indicators. They are constructed to summarize and reveal common turning point patterns in economic data in a clearer and more convincing manner than any individual component – primarily because they smooth out some of the volatility of individual components.

The ten components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for Japan include:

About The Conference Board The Conference Board is an independent business membershipand research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizationswith the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org.